Life-preserver.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

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LIFE PRESERVER.

APPLICATION FILED SBPULG. 1904.

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llnirnn fares Patented May 9, 1905.

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THOMAS J'. HRUBY AND THOMAS J. JIRIK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

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SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 789,428, dated Il/[ay e, 1905.

Application led September 6, 1904. Serial No. 223,404.

To (1J/Z wit/m1, if vnf/,ty concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS J. Hauer and THOMAS J. JIRIK, citizens of the United States,`

residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Life-Preservers, of which the following is a specification.

Our object is to provide a buoyant appliance of novel and improved construction adapted to be worn on the forearm and operate as a means whereby the wearer .may so sustain himself in the water as to keep his head above the surface without material effort.

It is also our object to provide the appliance of a construction which will tend rather to aid than cucumber a swimmer.

Yln carrying out our in vention,broadly stated, we provide a sleeve to lit more or less closely around the forearm of the wearer and forming a sack or receptacle for a `lioat which is preferably in the form of an inflatable bag of airholdingI material. As we prefer to construct the appliance we form a glove, of canvas or other material, to lit more or less closely the hand of the wearer, havinga sleeve extension reaching nearly to his elbow and fitting more or less closely around his wrist and forearm. ffastened around or adjacent to the hand portion of the glove is an ou ter sleeve, of canvas or the like, of greater diameter than the glove eX- tension and extendingto the end of the latter to form therewith an annular receptacle or sack. ln the said receptacle we place another receptacle or bag of material impervious to air and having means whereby it may be inflated and maintained in that condition to fill out its containing-rcceptacle.

The preferred construction will be described more in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, in whichw Figure l is a broken perspective view showing our improved life-preserver in position on the hand and arm of the wearer; Fig. 2, an enlarged and broken longitudinal section at the glove portion; Fig. 3, a cross-section taken on line 3 in Fig. l, and Fig. l a broken sectional detail View showing a valved mouthpiece through which the inner receptacle may beinflated.

A is a lingered glove, provided between the lingers with webs (L, as indicated.

B is a sleeve extension of the glove, adapted to lit more or less closely around the forearm and reaching, preferably, nearly to the elbow of the wearer. .Fastened around the glove, preferably in such manner as not to interfere with themovement of the fingers, is an outer sleeve or casing O, also reaching nearly to the elbow and adapted to be laced or otherwise fastened at that end to the adjacent end of the inner sleeve.

fl) is a sack or bag` of thin rubber. oiled silk, or other flexible sheet material, which may be passed into the receptacle formed by the inner and outer sleeves described. The bagD may be annular, as shown, to completely surround the forearm, or it may be formed to only partly surround the forearm. Preferably nearlyr midway between the wrist and elbow the bag l) is provided with a short inl'latiug-tube l)/, having a suitable valved mouthpiece. [n the location of the inflating-tube is an opening through the outer casing,closed, preferably, by a suitable liap I), which may be opened to give access to the tube and mouthpiece and buttoned down to cover the same.

In operation the inner bag D in a collapsed condition is passed into the outer sack and the latter is laced, as indicated. The appliance is then drawn over the hand and forearm, as shown, after which the wearer may inflate the inner bag, causing it to lill out the outer sack and forni a buoyant sleeve around the forearm. The pressure of the air in the bag D will tend to press the inner sleeve closely around the wrist and forearm and hold the appliance in place with suilcient firmness.

In practice the wearer would adjust an appliance on each of his hands and forearms, and they need be of no greater size in cross-scction than is necessary to afford buoyancy which will permit the wearer to maintain his head above water. The webs a will aid a swimmer in propelling himself through the water, while the device itself will offer no material obstruction to movement of the hands and arms.

On disin'llating thc bag l) the appliance may be readily removed from the hand and arm. The position of the tube D on the forearm puts it within easy reach of the mouth of the wearer.

Vhile we prefer to construct our improved appliance in the manner shown and described, it maybe variously modified in the matter of details without departing from the spirit of our invention as defined by the claims.

What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. As a new article of manufacture, a lifepreserver comprising a double-walled sleeve adapted to fit around the forearm of the user and composed of flexible waterproof and airproof material, said walls forming between them a closed inflatable airchamber, and means provided on said sleeve for inflating` it.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a lifepreserver comprising in combination an inner sleeve fitting around the forearm, an outer sleeve connected to and forming with the inner sleeve an annular receptacle extending approximately from the hand to the elbow, and an inflatable bag, of iiexible waterproof material impervious to air, filling out said receptacle, substantially as set forth.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a lifepreserver comprising in combination a glove having a sleeve extension fitting around the forearm and forming an annular receptacle extending approximately to the elbow and an iniiated bag of flexible waterproof material impervious to air filling out said receptacle, substantially as set forth.

a. As a new article of manufacture, a lifepreserver comprising in combination a lingered glove provided with webs between the iingers, and having a sleeve extension forming an annular sack to lit around the forearm, a bag of Aliexible waterproof material impervious to air in said sack, lacing' means for the end of the sack and means upon the bag whereby the same may be iniiated and disiniiated without removal from the sack.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a lifepreservei comprising in combination a glove, a sleeve extension upon the glove reaching approximately to the elbow, an outer annular' flexible covering fastened to the glove and extending to the end of the said sleeve extension to form therewith an annular receptacle about the forearm, means for closing the end of said receptacle, an air-holding bag of exible waterproof material, provided with a valved infiating and disinflating tube, in said receptacle and filling out the same when inated, and an opening and closing flap in the side of the receptacle giving access to said tube, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

THOMAS J. HRUBY. THQMAS J. JIRIK. ln presence of4 XVM/rer, N. VINBERG, F. M. lVIn'rz. 

